The President and His Cabinet
The cabinet are members of the executive oval office who are handpicked by the president to serve the president. The members of the president’s cabinet are some of the brightest political minds in the U.S.
The Secretary of State is one of the most important people in the cabinet. He or she is responsible for communicating with the press the president’s agenda. The press secretary speaks from a podium generally to the press about important events during the day.
Another important position is the Secretary of Defense. The Secretary of Defense is in charge of communicating with the armed forced such as the army and navy. He is also responsible for military strikes and intelligence. A new position in the cabinet has also been created in the last few years since September 11 terrorist attacks and that position is the Homeland Security Director. He is also responsible for all domestic problems and domestic terrorist attacks on U.S. soil. A final military position is the National Security advisor.
Other positions with less prestige include the Secretary of Energy, Secretary of Interior, Secretary of Education, Secretary of Agriculture, Secretary of Health and Human Service and the Secretary of Transportation. The Secretary of Agriculture is in charge of making sure that all meat in the U.S. is without disease like mad cow and that domestic agriculture products remain high in the U.S. economy.
Finally, one other important position is the Secretary of Treasury who is in charge of the national debt and funding for the president’s programs and disbersal of Congress’ budget.
All cabinet members are sworn into office and all nominees made by the president to serve in his cabinet must be approved by Congress first. Usually Congress doesn’t care who the president picks to serve in his cabinet but sometimes Congress will vote against a cabinet candidate because of past history or political views.
The powers of the president also include the power to appoint federal judges. This includes justices to the Supreme Court whenever a judge dies or retires. All Supreme Court nominees must be approved by Congress. There have been several instances in U.S. history in which Congress has voted against a judicial nominee because their political views were so far to the left or to the right that it would affect their policy decision making on the Supreme Court.
Finally, the president can appoint ambassadors who serve in almost every country to foster realtions between that foreign country and the U.S.
